Happy September to all who celebrate! We're a few days late on our news blast while our admin team is scattered across the East Coast, but late August came in hot with a bunch of fantastic news from our students, alumni, and faculty! Check out all the cool things we've been up to!
CAITLIN MCKENNA – Short Story Published
Caitlin McKenna’s short story, “Long Night of the Polar Bear” was selected for publication in ON FIRE AND UNDER WATER from Rock and a Hard Place Press.
Rock and a Hard Place Press publishes crime and dark fiction focused on desperate people forced to make difficult choices, which is why we believe it is fitting to publish an anthology of crime fiction about climate change, a new reality increasing desperation around the world.
She will be publishing under the name C.E. McKenna.
Rock and a Hard Place | Author Website
JOHN ROSENBERG | Article in CineMontage
John Rosenberg’s new book “Editing for the Screen” was reviewed in an article by CineMontage magazine.
Screen Gems: A new book looks at editing careers from multiple angles: For everyone who hopes to become a successful motion picture editor and has questions how to get involved, get started, move from assistant editor to editor, and maintain a long-term career, John Rosenberg has answers.
CineMontage Article | "Editing for the Screen" | Author IMDB
LISKA JACOBS – Short Story Published
Liska Jacobs’ short story “Semantics, Darling” was published by Hobart.
“The electricity went out on the Greek island in the small hours. Every air conditioner stopped, all the appliances shut off. Without WIFI, no one had cell service. It was nearly noon by the time power was restored. By then one of the Italian tourists was being airlifted to the medical center on the mainland.”
"Semantics, Darling" | Author Website
TOD GOLDBERG – Kirkus Starred Review
Tod Goldberg’s new novel, “Only Way Out,” received a Kirkus Starred review.
“A scuffling Seattle lawyer’s scheme to abscond with his firm’s safe deposit boxes has deadly consequences . . . Warped family histories, the trivializing effects of social media, and an occasional jab of emotion are all in the mix . . . Internecine noir, done just right.”
Kirkus Review | "Only Way Out" Pre-Order | Author Website
GABINO IGLESIAS - Joined Core Faculty
Gabino Iglesias was added to the core faculty of our program.
“Here's a writer who has found acclaim across several genres. Horror, mystery, crime, fantasy, literary fiction. Novels. Stories. Story collections. Essays. A little bit of everything. And of course he's also one of our nation's preeminent book critics.”
-Tod Goldberg, Program Director
Announcement | Author Linktree
DAVID ULIN - Article in NYT
David Ulin’s essay “Los Angeles Is Contaminated Now” was published in the NY Times Opinion column.
“Southern California was made to burn. The earliest wildfire recorded there was in 1889 and scorched 300,000 acres.
Given such a history, we might be tempted to see the calamitous Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires in Los Angeles County in January as part of a continuum. That would be a mistake.”
TY LANDERS - Debut Novel Sold
Ty Landers’ debut novel, “Baby Queen,” was bought by Harper Perennial.
University of California, Riverside MFA graduate Ty Landers’s BABY QUEEN, a Southern-set crime novel, pitched in the vein of Ozark, in which a young woman takes over the family honey business just as a body is unearthed on the farm--along with decades of secrets, to Noah Eaker at Harper Perennial, by Mark Tavini at David Black Literary Agency (NA).
TV rights to HBO and Media Res, with Pacesetter Productions.
TREY BURNETTE - Short Story Published
Trey Burnette’s short story “A Rather Tender Subject” will be included in “Absolute Pleasure: Queer Perspectives on Rocky Horror.”
The essays in Absolute Pleasure—by queer writers including Sarah Gailey, Grace Lavery, and Magdalene Visaggio—explore the film's complicated legacy, along with queer and trans joy, sexuality, family, generational understandings of queerness, and what we do with our problematic faves.
"Absolute Pleasure" | Book Events & Tour | Author Website
IVY POCHODA - Short Story on Pre-Order
Ivy Pochoda’s short story “Eerie Basin” is available for pre-order.
An old haunt in a once-derelict Brooklyn neighborhood harbors terrifying secrets in a wickedly chilling short story by Ivy Pochoda, the award-winning author of Ecstasy.
"Eerie Basin" | Author Website
MAGGIE DOWNS - Featured Author at Book Fair
Maggie Downs will be a featured author at this year’s Grieftastic Book Fair.
The Grieftastic Book Fair & BFF Brunch, happening Friday, November 21st at the Luxe Hotel in Los Angeles, is a one-of-a-kind event centered on expanding grief understanding, fostering community, and building meaningful connections.
Grieftastic Book Fair | Author Website
Are you a student, alum, or professor with amazing news we should be shouting about? Email heather.scheeler@ucr.edu with all of your new awards, publications, articles, and anything else incredible that deserves a shout out!